OTTAWA, Sept. 23, 2016 /CNW/ - The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today issued the following statement on the upcoming UNESCO World Heritage Centre and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reactive monitoring mission to Wood Buffalo National Park, which was requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015 in Bonn, Germany:

"The Government of Canada is pleased to welcome a mission of international experts from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature to Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park from September 25 to October 4, 2016.

Straddling Alberta and the Northwest Territories, Wood Buffalo is the largest national park in Canada, and we are committed to protecting it for the benefit of all Canadians and the world. The park supports and protects many unique natural and cultural resources including the only remaining nesting ground of the endangered whooping crane.

Parks Canada, as the agency responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Canada, is working closely with the World Heritage Centre and the IUCN to plan the mission. The Government of Canada is committed to preserving our national parks, some of which are recognized World Heritage sites, and doing so in partnership with local communities, Indigenous peoples and other stakeholders. We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate our stewardship of Wood Buffalo National Park and welcome the mission as a way to review, and potentially to improve, our management of the park as part of our ongoing commitment to protecting Canada's heritage places now and for future generations."